The World Looks Red
by SugarGlazed
Summary: Hate was too strong a word; Aina hated shots, but how she felt about romance was roughly similar. There was no word to exactly describe it. She felt uneasy with the aspect of love; enough said.


Hate was too strong a word; Aina hated shots, but how she felt about romance was roughly similar. There was no word to exactly describe it. She felt uneasy with the aspect of love; enough said.

This is why – for the second time this week – she turned down her fellow workmate whenever the eccentric young woman tried to set her up on a blind date.

"Oh come on. It's one itsy bitsy date," Ikumi stated. She leaned over the teller desk and brushed her long hair behind her ear. "Besides … you may even meet the person you were meant to be with."

Aina teasingly rolled her eyes. That was the tackiest thing she'd ever heard, but no less true.

These days soulmates were as common as the development of Quirks, albeit the phenomenon hadn't been around quite as long – give or take fourteen years. The exact cause was unknown, but rumors were that someone in the country of Japan manifested a powerful Emitter-type Quirk and altered humanity.

No one came forward with proof of such claim, so no one really knew for sure. What they did know was that Japan was the only country at this time affected. It swept the island like a plague, and at the young age of eight, the vibrant world Aina knew ceased to exist.

All traces of color washed away. It didn't necessarily peter out, but those affected by it could no longer see color. It was like a monochrome lens was inserted into each and every eye. Then came the awakening.

A woman in her late thirties claimed that she could still make out colors; her spouse claimed the same. Tests were administered, but to no benefit.

That was nearly three days after the phenomenon occurred, and since then, more and more people regained their loss. Each and every one of them were either married or found that a simple touch helped them see again. The only rationalized theory – Quirk experts believed – was that true love reversed the Quirk.

Bull; utter bull. Aina didn't believe it to be true. How could people assume that love was fixed? Her parents loved each other very much; neither of them were lucky enough to have their sight returned.

Not to say that it wasn't true, however. Couples found one another, all claiming to be awakened. The woman Aina worked for was one of them. She found love – years after the death of her husband – and swore the world lit up again.

"Doubt I will ever be that lucky. The boss didn't meet her soulmate until she was in her late forties," Aina explained.

The term soulmate was coined by high schoolers. It stuck like glue.

Ikumi snorted. "It's not like they're going to just fall into your lap. Go and meet them half way. This bank isn't the best place to start."

"Who knows … maybe I will meet them after I leave here. Doesn't hurt to touch every random guy or girl on the street and hope for the best," she joked.

Ikumi again snorted.

Now that she thought about it, she didn't even know why Aina was leaving early in the first place.

"You took a half day, right? How come?"

Aina curled up her nose. "I have an appointment. Flu season; the doctor insists I get a shot."

Mother insisted actually. She worked at Fukuoka Kinen Hospital. The doctor was a friend of hers and offered to see Aina. However, the only way he could fit her into his schedule was if she took a half day. Aina would have rather avoided it, but her mother was a tough one to negotiate with.

"Tough break," Ikumi said with a look of pity. "Shots are so annoying."

Aina nodded in agreement. _You can say that again._

She waved goodbye to her friend and left through the bank doors. The outside air was much more refreshing. Aina stretched her arms over her head and yawned. When she opened her eyes, they drifted up to the heavens.

Not being able to see colors really sucked at times. She missed the color green; it was her favorite. The foliage around her house was always so pretty when she was a child. Now it just looked like the rest of the world; grey and bleak. If there was anything to regret, it was the fact she took it all for granted.

"Ma'am … watch out."

Aina knotted her brows and turned her head to the side. She didn't notice it before, but someone was running towards her. He was a tall individual with a cowlick in his hair.

Before she understood what was happening, he dashed forward and snatched her by the arm. A gun was pressed to the side of her head as he forced her closer to his chest. That's when she noticed the police; four of them.

The hell was going on?

"Make a move and I will shoot her," the man yelled in her ear.

_Am I being used as a hostage?_

For some reason the hard truth was not sinking in. She never thought she'd be in a situation like this. The man held her close as he shouted at the police. Aina could hardly understand him. Her heart felt like it was beating out of control.

She thought she was going to die.

But, the villain suddenly let out a loud shriek and dropped the gun. In his hand was a red feather. Aina stared at it in shock. She never even thought about running.

_How is it that I can see the color?_

Before she or the police could even react, the furious man shoved her forward and activated his quirk. Aina felt her entire body lift into the air; tossed with such intensity that her head began to spin. She screamed in fear, but nothing could prevent what had already been done.

She felt like she may be sick. Her sight quickly came back and she glanced down at the street beneath her. Everyone looked so tiny – she realized the gravity of the situation and knew that she might not survive this.

Not wanting to see how fast the pavement was advancing on her, she closed her eyes tight. It was better this way.

A pair of arms slid beneath her own and suddenly she wasn't falling any more. But how? Another quirk? Aina opened her eyes. What she saw brought tears to her eyes.

Scarlet feathers; they twirled and glided in the sky around her. But how? She didn't understand any of this.

"They are so beautiful." Aina had never seen anything so pretty.

A soft laugh brought her to reality again. She now remembered – someone had saved her. There was only one person she knew of in Fukuoka who had wings. Hawks; the number 2 hero.

She glanced back in his direction with the intent to thank him. Tears leaked down her cheeks.

His keen eyes were wide with shock. There was no way he was seeing this. Color ignited in her eyes; so blue and so beautiful. Keigo nearly dropped her as she stared up at his wings. It made him wonder why he could not see anymore than what was being shown to him.

"Who are you?"

Aina felt her face heat up. "I'm … not anyone."

"Must be someone, for us to have met like this. Like it was fated," he said with a smile.

She puckered her brow. "Isn't it your job as a hero? There is nothing fated about it."

"A skeptic; that's something."

Aina nodded in agreement. "It's a little cliché to me."

"No doubt about that," Keigo said. He saw the police arrest the villain and flew down with the intent to set her on the ground. Once she was out of his arms, her eyes faded out. "Have to admit though, it's nice to see color again."

Even though her eyes were the only source.

With the ambulance on the way, Keigo knew that his job was done. Yet he couldn't force himself to leave. He reached out and touched her shoulder just to be sure. Her eyes again ignited with shades of blue and green; colors he could only remember seeing as a small child before he went colorblind.

"Isn't this something?"

Aina stared at him a minute. The wings behind him faded to grey once he removed his hand. It saddened her a little.

"I guess this means we are soulmates."

Keigo puckered a brow. "You sound let down. I'm not that bad of a guy."

"Don't take it that way," Aina said in a panic. She brought up her hands in defense. "I just … don't know how to deal with this. Where do we even go from here?"

He wasn't sure himself. The idea of love wasn't something Keigo had even thought about before. He was a pro hero. Love was merely something he thought may have passed him by – until today. It was too soon for him to say, but he could not deny that there was something special about her. She was easy on the eyes too.

Keigo combed back his hair. What to do? He honestly did not want to lose this chance to see color again. "How about diner? My treat, of course."

Her face again felt warm. Should she? The thought scared her. She did not like change, but the color she saw interested her.

"I suppose. My name is Aina by the way."

He sat his hands on his sides – a move she often saw heroes do; it made her smile. "Hawks, but you can call me your hero if you like."

Aina chuckled. Easy on the eyes and able to make her laugh; maybe this wasn't so bad. She wasn't totally convinced it was fated, however. Just part of his job. Her being there was just coincidence.

But maybe not. Aina decided that looking at it with an open mind was probably the best idea. For her sake, anyway. She exchanged numbers with Hawks and spoke with him until the ambulance came. Once he was gone, she clutched her phone to her chest and smiled.

Had she really found her soulmate?

* * *

_A/n: A sequel is planned for this._


End file.
